Syracuse AD: No ACC talk about not playing football

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack says there have been no discussions among Atlantic Coast Conference athletic directors about not playing football in the fall but declined to speculate on the near future.

'œThere are so many things that people have stated, that are floated out there, and the one thing I don't want to do is engage in speculation," Wildhack said Thursday on a conference call. "There's so much that we don't know. We don't control this. It will be led by the progress we make against the virus.

"We (the Atlantic Coast Conference schools) have not had any discussions in terms of not playing. We want to play, we plan to play. What we don't know is when we are going to start and what form or format we're going to start. Do you play with fans? Do you not play with fans? So much is unknown.'ť

Wildhack said the situation will be clearer in mid- to late June. He said the consensus is that players would need six weeks to prepare.

'œThat's really with feedback from coaches and trainers and medical personnel," he said. "You'd have to be careful when you bring them back, how you reorient them and monitor them carefully.'ť

While other schools, such as ACC rival Louisville, have announced furloughs and staff cuts, Wildhack said Syracuse was still OK despite the significant financial hit that came with the cancellation of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

On Monday, the university announced that Wildhack and men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim, women's basketball coach Quentin Hillsman, football coach Dino Babers, men's lacrosse coach John Desko, and women's lacrosse coach Gary Gait were taking voluntary 10% pay cuts.

'œI salute those five coaches,'ť Wildhack said, adding there was no discussion of eliminating any sports. 'œLeaders should set the example. We run an efficient operation here. We were able to realize significant savings from the cancellation of spring sports. At the same time, as you look at the next year ... you've got to build a variety of budget contingencies.'ť

In an effort to aid fans who are juggling finances, Wildhack said the university was putting a premium on mobile ticketing and providing fans with more options for payment schedules.

'œWe want to provide as much flexibility (as possible)," he said.

A graduate of Syracuse who returned to the university in 2016 to take over as athletic director after more than three decades at ESPN, Wildhack said he wasn't sure if a change in the fall football schedule would trigger a renegotiation of television contracts.

'œSport will be embraced by people. You can see that people miss sports," he said. "It's so important to them and their lives. The networks, the media companies, they're going to want live sports. Their desire for live sports is tremendous. They'll crave for the content.'ť

Wildhack said the university will take its cues about reopening from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, medical experts, and local and university officials.

'œThe state doesn't necessarily have to reopen all at one time," Wildhack said. "You've got to see progress in terms of combating the virus, in terms of slowing the spread of the virus.'ť

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